What to do when something goes wrong on LENA Day.
Device won't record.
Use a spare device. Write the child’s name on the label.
Tell your coach the serial number and which child used it.
The coach will assign the device in the system so it can be processed.
Child won't wear vest.
Just do your best to encourage, but don’t force it or get into a power struggle.
Talk to your coach, who can share some strategies LENA has gathered over the years, and help the child try again the next time.
Child is absent.
No problem! The child can participate in the next scheduled LENA Day.
Do not do a make-up day with the child.
Child leaves early.
Remove vest, turn off device, put it in the box/bin for processing with the rest.
If the child was present for long enough, those hours will show up on the report. If not, the device will be ready for the next LENA Day.
Device is found somewhere in the classroom...not on the child.
Oops! Put the device back on the child, note the time in your LENA Log, and tell your coach what happened.
If the child's individual report is very low on Child Vocalizations for a large part of the day, the device may have been off the child too long for accurate reporting about his or her language environment.
In that case, your coach can help remove that child's data from the reports.
Child has moved to a different classroom.
Put the child's device in the box for return at the end of the sequence.
If the child has moved to another classroom that is doing LENA Grow:
- Notify your coach so the child can be added to the new room in the LENA system.
- The new room should label one of their spare devices for the child, and tell the coach the serial number so it can be assigned in the system.
Note about timing: Data will appear for the room the child was assigned to in LENA Online at the beginning of the day...and sometimes classroom changes also happen at the beginning of the day. If the child's recording ends up in their original room by mistake, no problem – your LENA Partner Success Manager can move the data to the correct room.
New child joins room.
If the child is consented for another room, use a spare device. 
- Write the child's name on the label, and tell your coach the child's name and the serial number. The coach will assign the device in the system so it can be processed.
If the child is brand new, wait until the family has been introduced to LENA Grow and gives consent for participation. Then use a spare device, as described above.
Classrooms combine at the beginning of the day.
Postpone your LENA Day.
Why? Combined classes make weird LENA reports that do not reflect the reality of the teachers' practice. For example, if two LENA Grow rooms combine and one teacher leaves, each teacher will have a report for only their usual children – even the teacher who was not there at all!
If it's a permanent change the coach should reach out to their LENA Partner Success Manager for guidance. What to do will depend on how many sessions have already occurred and whether all children have been through the consent process.
Classrooms unexpectedly combine partway through the day.
Remove vests, turn off devices, put in the box/bin for processing.
Notify the coach that the LENA Day was cut short. If it was too short to be reported for all or most children, plan to record on the next logical day.
Why? The report will not reflect reality for the combined portion of the day (see above example).